Automatic welding equipment is being used more and more, where feasible, to replace manual welding. Where space permits, virtually any desired extent of automation can be provided. Where space is limited, however, conventional automatic welding equipment sometimes cannot be fit into the small available spaces in such manner as would be required to provide effective welding at all of the places where it is needed. So it has been necessary to resort to manual welding at such places.
The present invention comprises simple, compact, versatile apparatus for use in welding in places that would not be accessible to conventional or other known automatic welding systems. It can be used in welding not only along simple paths but also along curved, irregularly shaped paths, such as three dimensional ones. Advantageous use of the present invention has been demonstrated by employing apparatus of the type disclosed herein to weld such things as the internal joints of impeller blades, where space is severely limited and the angle at which the joint is welded must be varied as the angle between the blade and the hub to which it is to be welded changes. The typical embodiment disclosed herein, for use in a gas-shielded metal arc welding system that may be at least largely automatic, is an especially useful one. However, the invention may be used for furnishing weld material to a surface for welding thereto along a predetermined welding path by means other than arc welding and using other weld materials besides metals, such as plastics.